My house was broken into while Mrs. Houseofmoto and I were sleeping 6 years ago.

Now archived thread about being robbed 6 years ago.

Round 2 court date for scumbag is tomorrow.  Prosecutor called me a bit ago and we had a long talk.  Scumbag burglar has since cleaned up his life, gotten off drugs/substances, gone to school, and is gainfully employed.  I'm not sure what the judge is going to do, prison or probation.  Prosecutor is a bit mixed on feelings too, as she said it's REALLY rare for someone to get off the path this dude was on and move to law abiding/clean.

I can't make the trial tomorrow.  . I'm a stay at home Dad of 1 and 3 year olds, and it's birthday boys 1 year doctor checkup tomorrow morning.  That and no family currently within 250 miles to take over watching my crew.  I'm not taking them to a trial.

Anyway, the Prosecutor wanted my input.  I told her that it's great the guy is on the straight and narrow.  However, he's damn lucky he didn't get shot, or worse, that something bad happened to us 6 years ago.  I told her I have zero sympathy if he goes to jail, as I'd expect to go to jail if I was in his shoes.  

Wife and I changed a lot from that night, and I am very far from trusting of others because of the burglary/robbery.  We became very security conscious.  Before all this I'd just get out of bed for a bump in the night.  Now I've got a light, a Glock or AR, and a layered security plan.  Bump in night from intruder going forward?  Secure family, eliminate threat until it stops or escapes, then call 911.  Thanks Arfcom, I learned a lot from many of you about how to be better prepared and to layer defenses.

I'll let you guys/girls  know the outcome of the trial when I hear back from the Prosecutor.

I hate thieves.

10/22/2015 update:
I hadn't heard from Angela, who is prosecuting the case, so I just called her.  Scumbag (Can I name him on here?  I'd gladly post his name.). Is now going to plead GUILTY to F2 Burglary on Wednesday Nov 4 at 1100 hours at the Summit County Courthouse in front of Judge Rowlands.

Angela wants me there to speak, so I'll be looking for a sitter or seeing if wife can take a vacation day.

Scumbags mugshot

F2 burglary in Ohio explained

F2 Burglary is a fourth degree felony in Ohio, here is what ASK.com says about it.

So, it looks like 6-18 months and up to a $5000 fine (not including restitution) are the max he could get.  .

Arrest/Court record for the dude.



11/04/2015 update:

TLDR version:  Made it to court, got to have my say to the judge, defendant plead guilty to F2 Burglary,  3 years prison (suspended). 2 years probation (though the term used wasn't probation), restitution to be paid to me $500, and $1350 to my insurance company.  Judge waived court fines/fees to the guilty party so he would have more funds available to pay restitution.  I will try to update with more details later, it was an interesting experience for someone that hasn't been in a criminal courtroom before.

11/06/2015 thoughts on the outcome......

I'm happy with the outcome, and I really feel like I can move on now.  Seriously, it's like a little annoyance that's haunted me in the back of my mind is gone.  I didn't expect that, and it made me glad I went to court to have my say.

The guy was a unicorn for a criminal.  Rarely, almost never, does a drug addict/criminal get sober on his own without a court intervention.  Not only that, he went to college, got a job, and kept his nose clean.  The judge and prosecutor both noted to the court that this rarely ever happens.  He noted that he truly did not remember doing the burglary as he was high at the time.  We were robbed the morning after Memorial Day in 2009, and Brandon (burglar) stated to the court that he got into a drug treatment program June 15, 2009 and has been sober since that day.

I almost wanted to feel bad for him, but he now has a F2 Felony Burglary conviction on his record for the rest of his life.  That's a load that will haunt him for the rest of his days.  I'm truly glad I didn't have an unarmed face to face encounter back in 2009 with him.  It may have been REALLY bad knowing now he was drug fueled and desperate.

Hopefully, he will stay sober and on the right side of the law.  We got closure, as he has been caught, convicted, and is now known to us as the guilty party that intruded into our home.

Now I need to sign up for more training classes, and keep our security plan going and constantly improving.  I hope it never happens again, but at least we are a lot more ready than before.  The encounter lead me to AR15.com, and all the members have taught me more than I can ever thank them for doing.

Thanks for reading.  I hope my experiences help others to better prepare themselves.

Did your insurance cover what you lost?

Fuck his sob story. Karma's a bitch.

Yes, after paying a deductible.

Prosecutor is going for restitution for myself and insurance company in addition to jail time/probation.

Still won't by peace of mind back though.

SPNI

Fuck that POS, he needs to be in prison. Who cares what he does now?

You need to hire a babysitter at all cost and put him in jail. Everyone on death row finds religion as well. He should be in jail and make full restitution as well as security cost since those were caused by him as well

If a guy really turned around and wants to lead the straight and narrow, he'll understand that he needs to pay his dues.

Que sera, sera.

Does not matter what he did, he did you wrong and MUST be punished.
Hang them high.  

Probably can swing probation with a split sentence of a few weekends if your state does that. Odds are it won't make you happy, no matter the ruling.

Going to come down to what your judge is like.

I agree.  I'm still happy they caught his sorry ass, despite some inept work with his fingerprints.  Hence the reason it took 6 years to get to this point.

I do laugh thinking how this guy thought his past was behind him.  Must have really screwed up his plan when Karma started it's comeback.

Burglary of an occupied dwelling is serious imho.  It's also pretty bold on his part.  I'd be curious what his prior convictions are and what he scores as far a prison.  Is this a plea and sentencing or a trial with sentencing to follow??

Glad the guy cleaned up his life, but time to pay the piper.

He needs some jail time, how much not sure, but some.

Fuck him. They are all "getting their lives together"

He could have 3 prior convictions of the same charge, and still get probation. I take it none of you have been into criminal court recently.

It's a kangaroo court.

Felony check fraud in 2008 is what I thought think she told me.  Other than my, and several neighbors homes that were broken into, nothing for this dude since 2009.

Being on drugs sure makes it easier to make stupid decisions.

Prosecutor is probably thinking like you.  She said she's normally either cut and dry on prison or probation.  Fucking unicorn,  I want my peace of mind back to when I thought the world wasn't such a bad place. -we know peace of mind isn't ever returning.  I do feel better knowing we get some form of closure out of whatever happens tomorrow.

He broke in your house six years ago and is just now being sentenced? Or did it take that long to ID and catch him?

See OP and archive thread.

TLDR:  his fingerprints found at scene got "lost" in system for 6 years.

It's also possible he's just gotten more skilled or careful and hasn't been caught recently. Plenty of burglars and thieves out there with full time jobs.

I am sure he also found Jesus

Fuck him. I would want him to got to Jail for as long as possible.

And I do not care that he has a job. He can get another one in Jail.

TAG

better to have him working and making restitution than paying for him to sit in prison.

I would rather see him do a few years in prison . nothing teaches better than  losing your freedom.

Why didn't you shoot him when you had the chance?

1. Never saw him, he was in and out pretty quick.  I didn't hear him till he was unlocking the back door to escape.
2.  I was naive.  My guns at the time were stored at my parents old house.
3. I didn't have a plan.  I was just stunned at the time.

Much has changed since then.  Layered defense that is improved upon as funds allow.  CHL, training, practice.  Total mindset shift and change.  I wish to live a peaceful and safe life.  God help your ass if you break into my current home.  There will be many accurate rounds fired from a superior position.  I'm prepared and striving for more improvement.  Sometimes it sucks that that is they way the worlds gotta be this way.

Agree if it wasn't an occupied home that was robbed. Outcome could have been very bad. Fuck that guy.

This.


And this.

 
Good for you!

How do you figure?

The cops identified the burglar from fingerprints. The OP never saw the man. Can't they establish the crime from the police report?

According to prosecutor:
Early/mid 20s when it happened.  I think she said 25/26 in previous call.
He has been "clean" since late 2009.
He's got enough cash to pay for his own lawyer, so any restitution to me buys Christmas presents for the munchkins.

I'm rooting for prison because that night won't get out of my head.

THIS

Op, if you haven't already, check with the prosecutor and see if she (or perhaps a victim's advocate) can at least read a victim impact statement or letter from you into the record if it's permissible in your state.  It may be possible given your situation with small children an lack of a sitter to appear in court.  He may be allowed to have character witnesses speak on his behalf for leiniency (family members, friends, employer, pastor etc.).  It may at least give you a shot at expressing that while he may have claim to have turned his life around, he also turned yours upside down.   If she can,I would email her one ASAP today.

May vary from state to state and prosecutor to prosecutor, but they would most likely have to put the victim on the stand in my circuit in Florida.  If nothing else it introduces testimony as to what was taken, how they came to find that it was missing, and what they did after they found the property was missing. Also if any property was recovered the victim would testify to the ownership of the property, probably tying it to the suspect or someone who knew or dealt with the suspect.

"restitution" will come in the form of checks for less than petty cash every month.

Unfortunately I don't think that is true.

"An estimated two-thirds (68 percent) of 405,000 prisoners released in 30 states in 2005 were arrested for a new crime within three years of release from prison, and three-quarters (77 percent) were arrested within five years, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) announced today."

Link

That is what she did during our call today.  Took a statement from me for the judge.  Much of what I told her is summarized in the OP.
Scumbag has several letters/statements from friends/school/work stating he has turned his life around for the better.  He is REALLY hoping to NOT go to prison.
Either way, he has been caught.  We know who he is and where he lives.  That alone makes me smile.
We will see what the judge decides.

Does insurance pay back "lost peace of mind"?

My house was broken into many years ago as well, I would have a very hard time forgiving as some of the guns taken were passed down to me from deceased family members so there is no getting those back, still bothers me to this day.

Changed his path or got better at it and hasn't been caught?

Do the crime, do the time

Except in this case, it isn't 'getting'.  It's more like 'already got'.

Like the prosecutor, I would have mixed feelings on this one too.  The nasty side of me would be saying 'do the crime, do the time'.  So would the law and order part of me.  The cold practical part of me would be asking 'what is to be gained by taking someone, who has a job and is probably paying taxes, and is at least not screwing up more stuff than he already has, and make him unemployable and on the dole for the rest of his life?'  I could make the argument to myself that he's already learned his lesson, has already been corrected, otherwise he'd still be thieving.

I'm saying this as someone who's had his stuff stolen in a break in before.  I know that unpleasant feeling really, really well.

I really don't know how I'd react if they arrested the guy who stole my stuff and it turned out to be a situation like this.

Yeah, that is one thing that occurs to me in this situation.  Problem is, even the probation taints his record enough that the odds of becoming a welfare assistance leech gets really high.  I don't know that the 'middle ground' options are viable here.  If you're going to let it go, you need to let it go and if you're going to throw the book at him, throw it hard.

This sucks for him and you.

He had a job, fixed himself. If he goes to jail, will he go back to what he was doing before? He will no longer have a job, won't be able to pay you back and most likely won't be able to get a job once he is out.

I say, have him pay you and the insurance company back, get probation w/ community service working with originations that help people he use to victimize.